New Light
by PrincessDarcy
Summary: People change all the time. The only question is, can we let go of the past enough for us to see those changes?
1. Return to Hogwarts

**A/N: Hello everyone! :) This was something I was just messing around with in my head. Not sure where this is headed, I'm just kind of winging it ;) Please review! I would really love feedback and IDEAS! Those are always appreciated :D but please be nice haha so yeah... :) love hearing from you guys **

**also, I do not own Harry Potter, but I wish I did :(**

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"Thank you!" Hermione said to the trolley lady. She had bought 3 boxes of chocolate frogs and was opening one when Harry cried, "WAIT! I'll have two more chocolate frogs, please!" The lady smiled and handed them over. He paid for them with a, "Thank you" and plopped down onto his seat. Ron was already plowing through his snacks.

They were back on the Hogwarts Express. Because the war had so rudely interrupted their education, Professor McGonagall had "invited" (aka: demanded nicely) them to return in order to complete their education. Of course some people (Hermione) were more excited than others (everyone else), but everyone was still glad to be able to enjoy something with a certain level of normalcy without the threat of war or Voldemort breathing down their necks.

Hermione watched with amusement as Ron shoved chocolate frogs into his mouth. (He was at number 5 right now, at ONCE.) Harry sat next to him, deep in thought.

"Harry, what's on your mind?" she asked.

"Nothing…just wondering…how can anything be normal? After all we've had to endure? When will life feel normal again?" he said, somewhat frustrated.

Hermione unconsciously gripped her left arm. The scars had faded but there was still a faint white outline of the word. She had stopped thinking about it, but that didn't stop the nightmares from coming. And she still had her moments, when she happened to glance at it as she was doing something, when she would suddenly freeze and the tears would start. To be honest she didn't have the answers to Harry's question. She had asked herself the same thing over and over again. Everyone had lost so much…

"Maybe…"she said pensively, "this is where we start…we've got to start somewhere, right? And maybe…maybe it'll be better to begin our healing at the place where the emotions run rawest. Grab the bull by the horns, if you will," she said with a tentative smile. She knew her friend had suffered during the winter. The gloomy weather hadn't helped much, either. But she also knew he was slowly recovering (having lived at the Burrow), and Ginny was probably the biggest catalyst. She smiled faintly, knowing they would all be reunited soon. (She hadn't seen Ginny yet, because she was Head Girl now and had duties to perform.)

The trio chatted for a bit before dozing off.

The Great Hall felt different. It had been restored to it's former glory, but the atmosphere was wrong. Even though it was warm, everyone felt a shiver go down their spines. As if a ghost had just walked through them. It looked the same, but something was missing. Even the teachers' smiles seemed forced, as if they were going through the same emotions as all the students. The Sorting Hat was on its usual stool, in front of the teachers' podium. Before the mood could get any darker, it burst into song.

_A thousand or more years ago,_

_ When Hogwarts barely started_

_ The founders sowed me up and imbibed me with a magic_

_ To seal the magic, they farted_

_ Just last year the war has ended_

_ Hopefully for once and for all._

_ Be not surprised, my fair students,_

_ If we celebrate with a ball._

_ Houses divided led to our fall._

_ So heed my words, leave animosities behind!_

_ Let us not make the same mistakes,_

_ Let us not be blind!_

_ Be prepared to see new things,_

_ Forget why you all fight._

_ Instead, prepare yourselves and your minds_

_ For now you will see in new light._

A couple of seconds passed before everyone started clapping. There were some murmurs, all wondering if the Hat had lost its mind during the Final Battle. Others were interested about the ball it had mentioned. The others were silent.

"Hermione, what do you think about the song this year?" Harry asked. He knew it would be pointless to even mention Ron because the formerly mentioned was already dozing off, with a slight spittle of drool oozing out of his mouth.

"Mmmm…I guess the Hat's right. We need to forget our differences and unite…if we don't want another Voldemort repeat. Slytherins need to let go of their bigoted blood supremacy ideas and we all need to forgive the Slytherins for their former actions." She said thoughtfully.

But the two friends were more than skeptical. How were they supposed to forget what the Slytherins had done? How could they forget how they had chose to run and save themselves, rather than stay and fight (not only for their school but) for the whole Wizarding world? If they had fought, maybe not as many lives would've been lost.

After the sorting ended the feast began, and chatter filled the air once again. A couple of seats away Lavender and Parvati were excitedly discussing the Sorting Hat's song. However, their focus was on the ball. They wondered if there would actually be a ball, when it would be, what they would wear, who they would want to be invited by, etc. Hermione rolled her eyes at them. They were her friends, and she loved them, but sometimes they were really too girly for her tastes.

After the food was cleared everyone got up and headed to their common rooms. The eighth years were to live in their old dormitories until everything was settled. McGonagall had mentioned they might move (which had caused another flurry of chatter to spread)

Harry, Ron and Hermione greeted the Fat Lady enthusiastically. It pained them to see her because her painting had not yet been fully restored. Some of the spells that hit her had been fairly dark, causing the restoration process to move slowly. She let them in with a smile. They were immediately greeted by the warmth of the fireplace.

Hermione smiled brightly. The trio headed off to their corner of the common room and plopped down in the armchairs. Ginny came to join them a while later and the four chatted away.

She was home.


	2. Nightmares

**A/N: Hello! Thanks SO much to all the people who followed! It means so much :) I was going to introduce Draco in this chapter...but I'm still not sure what direction I want to take this in...any ideas? Please review! :D Would love to hear feedback! Hopefully you guys will enjoy :)**

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Hermione woke up with a start. Ever since the war ended she found all her dreams riddled with nightmares. Sometimes, if she was lucky, she'd just have flashes of Voldemort's face popping up everywhere. Other (most) days, she wasn't as lucky. The scarier ones involved seeing everyone dead (she could never get used to seeing Harry's unblinking eyes, or a trickle of blood running down Ron's mouth, no matter how often she dreamt it), or what would have happened if they had failed. Perhaps, arguably, the worst one was the one where she relived Malfoy Manor. She could feel the knife carving her skin, feel the pressure as Bellatrix stepped on her. It didn't matter if she turned or screamed, all she could see were Malfoy's eyes: staring, unblinking, cold. That one had her waking up in tears and screams. She would always clutch her arm, because the dream felt so real. It didn't matter that they had won in real life, in her dreams, she could only see the aftermath of their failure.

But today it wasn't too bad. She woke up after Voldemort's face popped up from underneath her bathroom door. (Almost comical, like a clown…but a scary clown with no nose.) Hermione realized she wasn't going to fall back asleep. She groaned and looked at her clock- 5:12 A.M. 'Well, I might as well get up…' she thought. Slowly, and with a grimace, she got out of bed and headed toward the showers.

She shivered then let out a contented sigh as the warm water hit her. The water was soothing and relaxed her muscles in a matter of seconds. The temperature was JUST perfect: not too hot, but warm enough to make her shiver. Hermione let the water run over her body for a good fifteen minutes. The sound of pounding water was the only noise in the bathroom, along with the occasional sigh. She was thinking back to the day she received her Hogwarts letter for her "eighth year." Prof. McGonagall had mentioned Head Girl duties, saying vaguely that things weren't decided yet. Hermione wondered grimly if that was Prof. McGonagall's way of gently letting her know she would never be Head Girl. She frowned. Ever since she had learned such a position existed she had done everything she could to get it. She sighed. 'Oh well…some things just aren't meant to be,' she thought, 'Just like with Ron.' That thought brought another frown to her face. They had kissed during the war…but something had been missing.

Hermione wouldn't ever say she had been in love, but she read enough books to have a vague idea what it was like. Weren't there supposed to be fireworks? Or at least some kind of fluttering in her stomach (if not there at least in her heart)? But when they kissed, there had been nothing. The kiss soon got awkward and she had broken apart. After the battle, she had talked to Ron, and luckily he felt the same way. So, their friendship was saved, but Hermione had always thought she would end up with Ron…The question had always been, "If not Ron, then who?" After learning it was indeed not Ron, she had struggled with the question. 'I guess I'll just die alone, with a million cats,' she sighed. She finished showering and turned off the water. A small shiver ran down her back as the cold air hit her. She dried off with an extremely fluffy towel. (Hermione found that after a year of "camping out" she had grown to…greatly appreciate the luxuries of life, such as the perfect temperature of water to shower with and super fluffy towels.) She groaned when she saw the time- 6:00 A.M. 'Still,' she thought brightly, 'I did manage to waste almost an hour in the shower.' With a small smile she started drying her hair.

There was no doubt Hermione had grown into a lovely woman. Her hair was no longer frizzy, but fluffy and wavy. Kind of like a waterfall, really. It was a deep chestnut brown that shone almost golden in the light. Her…lady parts, filled out nicely, but she was still petite and quite small. (But don't be fooled, she packed muscles under all those layers of "damsel in distress"-eque qualities; the muscles had been a necessity before, hanging out with boys 24/7 and also the whole "being on the run" thing.) Her eyes were round and had a subtle cat eye shape. They were a dark, but strikingly clear brown with fleck of light brown, almost yellow. Still, at first glance she was fairly plain. Her beauty lay in her personality, and in the details.

Having finished dressing, Hermione decided to go read in the common room.

She walked down the stairs to the toasty warmth of the fire. When she got there she was startled to find someone was already there, sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace. All Hermione could see was a bush of raven hair. She sighed, 'I should've known Harry would be up as well…' She padded over quietly and sat down next to her best friend. Silence followed. But it was the comforting kind, not awkward. Years of friendship had allowed the two friends to communicate without words. Both knew why the other was there and knew each other's presence was comfort enough.

"You know…nightmares are normal for everyone." Hermione broke the silence. She knew Harry had been having nightmares, although she was under the impression he had stopped.

"Same goes for you, little missy." Harry said quietly with a smile, staring into the fire.

"Yeah…I mean…I thought I was the only one still getting them…Ron was told me months ago that you stopped screaming. Care to explain?" The question was more of an invitation to share than an accusation, and she knew Harry would take it as such. Harry contemplated for a moment before responding.

"Silencio…"

His confession was so quiet Hermione wasn't sure if she heard correctly. She blinked in surprise when she realized she had. "Silencio? So you mean…all the progress Ron told me about…" Harry cut in with a small nod, "Wasn't true." He looked at her with sad eyes. Tears sprang to Hermione's eyes as comprehension dawned on her.

"Oh Harry! I had no idea! If I had known…or maybe I could've….I should've realized…" Harry cut her off. "No, it's fine. I didn't tell anyone on purpose…didn't want people to be so worried about me…I'm fine, really…" he mumbled. She quickly wiped the tears away and snuggled closer. Harry raised his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders.

The two stayed like that, silent and snuggled, until 7:38. Then they finally got up and stretched. Neither had spoken a word but both felt much better, knowing they were not alone. The two went up to their rooms to grab their school bags and headed off to breakfast.

Hermione slipped her arm into Harry's and smiled at him. He had grown quite a bit (although still much shorter than Ron), and was quite the formidable figure. He was like a brother to her, but the bond went even deeper. She sighed contentedly and the two headed to the Great Hall.

Since it was so early there weren't many people. But they did see Luna, who was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, and waved. She had lost weight over the winter, her face looked taught, but already her eyes were gaining back some of their twinkle. She waved back dreamily and wnet back to staring off into space with a doe-eyed expression.

"Reckon she'll be like that forever?"

"I suppose so…she IS in Ravenclaw…I wonder if her ideas actually might have some truth in them…" Hermione mused. "She might actually be onto something…"

"No. I think her smarts are in other areas." Harry said with a grin. "After you, mi lady," he said with a mock bow.

Hermione giggled, "Why thank you, brave knight." She curtsied and took a seat on the bench.

She reached for the pitcher of milk and cocoa powder. Chocolate milk had become her favorite drink over the winter. She found it helped calm down her frayed nerves after her nightmares. Not many people knew though, mainly because it was something so mundane (and almost childish). The two piled food onto their plates and began to eat, all the while chatting up a storm. There weren't many people in the Great Hall, but still they had failed to notice one person, who sat in the shadows.


	3. Surprising Realizations

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks SOO much to all of you that reviewed and/or followed It really means SO much to me :) and your reviews really helped me continue 3 reviews really are my fuel! haha and I'm SO sorry I haven't uploaded in agess! I had finals though, but I'M DONE NOW! someone come celebrate with me :) I hope to upload pretty often, but we'll see how that works ;)**

**I really struggled hard with this chapter, and I'm still not that happy with it. But I had to get it out there, hopefully the next ones will be better developed. I'll try harder to get in touch with my "inner Slytherin" haha as always, please review and I hope you'll enjoy! xoxo**

**also, I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it :(**

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A set of stormy eyes looked at the laughing duo from across the Hall. He couldn't understand the way they interacted with each other. It was something he'd never experienced- not even with his parents. It had never bothered him, although he'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious. He supposed it'd be fun to have friends for a bit, just as a little experiment.

He was sitting by himself (it being super early and all), but he didn't mind. Even if it weren't so early he'd probably end up sitting alone- several Slytherin members had chosen to not return. In terms of reputation and population, Slytherin House had taken the greatest fall. In fact, given a choice, he probably wouldn't have returned either. He sighed, remembering his letter…

_ Dear ,_

_ I regret to inform you that your attendance will be obligatory this year. Your father's presence in Azkaban and your mother on probation in Brazil leaves you with few options for housing. You will be joining the other students for your eighth year._

_ Regards,_

_ Minerva McGonagall_

_ Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry _

His eyes flashed. He had talked to McGonagall since then and she had explained what she meant. Apparently, her regret lie in forcing him to attend, not in the fact that he was going to. She had cleared that up, but he still resented her choice of words. His attention was drawn back to the giggling duo. He stared at the mass of brown hair intently. Over the winter he had come to a startling (and incredibly annoying, not to mention inconvenient) realization: he had grown up respect Hermione Granger.

Watching his aunt torture her on his floor had stirred something inside him. Not feelings (Malfoys don't have feelings, he thought with a scoff), no…definitely not feelings. Just a realization. The first thing was how meaningless blood was. There he was, Draco Malfoy, handsome, rich, debonair, charming, PUREBLOOD wizard, being bested in every way possible by this….this insignificant human being. What did she have? A head of bushy, untamable hair, a snooty attitude, dirty blood, not a cent to her name, and yet…she had survived his aunt's worst. She had writhed and pleaded for mercy, but Bellatrix couldn't break her. Couldn't make her admit the truth. Hermione Granger…was something unique. Watching her endure that without losing her mind had made him see her differently. It was at that moment that she took up residence in his mind and wouldn't leave. Still, she was insignificant- especially her idiotic friends.

His musings were interrupted by someone jostling into him. He started and turned to glare at the offender. It was Astoria Greengrass. His eyes narrowed, "What do you want, wench?" She looked at him coolly and turned to her toast.

"The whole table is empty. Move." He said it coldly, and it wasn't a request.

"If you don't want me here, then you move," she said with feigned daintiness.

He gave her one last withering look and ignored her. She wasn't worth his time. That didn't mean he wasn't in a foul mood. It was beginning to stifle the air (it was getting quite difficult for those in the vicinity to breathe) until Pansy showed up. She took one look at the situation and immediately realized what was wrong. With an angry huff she strode over to the Slytherin table and plopped herself down between Draco and Astoria. "Hey Drakie, how's it going?" Astoria grunted, being disgruntled at being pushed. Pansy froze, her hand midway to her cup, and turned slowly. "What." Astoria cowered at her icy tone but recovered and said quietly, "You pushed me."

"So." It wasn't a question. "Problem?" This time it was, but it was a trick question. Draco might be known for his uncontrollable temper, but Pansy was the Ice Queen. No one dared cross her. Astoria opened her mouth to answer but Pansy interrupted with a cut of her hand. "Move. Now." Her tone allowed no argument. Looking absolutely offended, Astoria moved across the table.

Draco gave Pansy a look of thanks. "She was," he began, but Pansy cut in," No, it's nothing. I know." The two fell into a companionable silence. They had grown up together, but they weren't friends. Draco had realized another thing over the winter: he was quite friendless. He had numerous acquaintances, followers, admirers, heck he even had a little posse at school. But none of them were his friends. The realization had caught him quite off guard. He didn't care though. Who needed friends when you could have acquaintances? Both were the same thing, but friends required more time and effort…more work. No, he much preferred having acquaintances…or even partners.

Draco snuck a sideways glance at Pansy. Her straight, black hair was covering her face as she reached for a scone. He wondered what it would've been like if they had been friends. Sure, they were more loyal to each other than to other people, but in the end it was every man for himself. She sensed someone's eyes on her and turned around. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"Yeah….a little something, right there."

"Pansy got a panicked look on her face, "WHAT?! Where!?" She shrieked.

"Right there….oh my goodness what is that thing? It's right there, oh wait, that's just your nose." He smirked at her.

Pansy gave him an enraged glare and yelled, "YOU INSOLENT, SODDING, JERK!" Draco just laughed. She hissed at him, "So this is how you repay me for saving you from Astoria? Well then, we'll see how this pans out, shall we?" He gave her a dashing smile and said," I'm truly sorry Pansy, it was just a joke." She looked a little mollified, "Whatever, idiot. You'll still pay for that." Draco just laughed.

Another person came to join them, with a flourish, he sat down. "Morning, Draco, Pansy," he said with a small nod in their direction. Pansy fluttered her eyelashes at him, "Hello, Blaise. How'd you sleep?" she purred. Draco rolled his eyes and responded, "Morning. How's it like, being back here?" Blaise had gone back to Italy with his mother during the war. "I slept well, thank you Pansy. As for being back here, it's…whatever. Not quite the charm of Italy, but it will suffice for now," he said calmly. Blaise had not grown up with Pansy and Draco, but he was still pretty tight with them. His calm demeanor often offset Draco's more hasty tendencies. Draco was always collected and cool, but when he had an idea he held onto it like a dog with a bone. (And not all his ideas were reasonable, which was when Blaise stepped in.) The three talked more about Blaise's trip, what Pansy had done, what they were expecting from this school year.

"It'll be a load of rubbish, I expect."

"Now Drakie, that's no way to think. Let's try to make the best of it. You never know what might happen."

"That's easy for you to say Pansy, you're not the one walking around with a Dark Mark."

"Draco, please. Calm yourself down. People are staring." Blaise said calmly. Sure enough, several of the younger Slytherin students were beginning to stare, wondering what was causing Draco to lose his cool. Blaise gave him a look, and motioned with his head to take a seat. Pansy gave him a sly smile.

The bell rang.


	4. The Wizard of Oz and Pears

**a/n: hello again! :) this chapter was loong overdue! haha, but i was having (still am) the HARDEST time trying to figure out what direction i want to take their relationship in! i've read so many good stories on here, but i don't want mine to be too obvious...it's been a struggle :( haha, well enough of that! on to the next chapter!**

**as always, please review! hearing thoughts/ideas is sooo appreciated! 3 and as always, i don't own anything related to Harry Potter :(**

**oh and happy new year everybody! may this year be full of joy and prosperity and success!**

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"Come on Harry! We're going to be late for Charms!" Hermione said impatiently to her friend. Said friend simply exchanged an exasperated look with Ron.

"Really, Herm, you've gotta calm down mate. Charms is in like, 20 minutes."

"Ronald, you know full well the classroom is farther away this year. Besides, don't you want to get good seats?" Hermione was losing her patience. Honestly, her friends could be such dunderheads! Why couldn't they take their education a little more seriously? Harry noticed Hermione's growing aggravation and decided to come to the rescue. "Ron, let's hu-" he was cut off by Hermione's angry voice.

"Forget it. I'll go by myself." Hermione's tone was incredibly icy. Ron, being the emotionally insensitive guy he was, said, "Shave uth a theat, fill you?" he said thickly, with a mouth full of pudding and toast. Hermione gave him a look of disgust. "Swallow your food before speaking, Ronald." She angrily grabbed her books of the table and stalked off. Harry gave Ron a look of exasperation. "Seriously mate? You really couldn't tell she was angry?" Ron finally stopped chewing for a moment, "Really? What?" he was truly confused, and his face showed it, "What for?" After a moment of consideration he said, "Do you reckon she'll still save us seats?"

"I wouldn't bet on it. She's really gotta take a Calming Draught or something, though."

"I'll sneak it into her chocolate milk, you brew it though. "

"Deal? C'mon, Charms is in 15 minutes. We better run." The two friends grabbed their textbooks and bags before getting up. Ron stretched a little before following Harry out of the Great Hall. "

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"So…so so-sorry Pro-fessor Fli-t…Flitwick." Harry panted, trying to catch his breath. Ron quickly followed into the room.

Professor Flitwick gave them a disapproving look, "5 points for tardiness!" He squeaked. "Take a seat boys." The two friends looked around the room, trying to find empty seats. They quickly spotted Hermione sitting in the front row. Quickly moving towards her, they were surprised to see that the two seats next to her were taken. She pointedly ignored them and continued to take notes. Ron gave an angry puff of air behind Harry. But before he could start raging in the middle f class Harry was able to spot two free seats near the back of the classroom and started walking towards them. He motioned for Ron to follow. The two quickly took the empty seats and began taking out their parchment and quills.

The remainder of the class followed without incident, with Ron huffing and puffing angrily next to Harry (who had tried getting him to stop- it was rather hard already to hear what Flitwick was saying without having Ron's angry breath in your ear). By the time class ended Ron's dark expression had not lightened. The two hurried out of the classroom to try and catch up to Hermione, who had practically run out the moment the bell rang.

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Hermione couldn't believe her two idiot friends. Honestly, they were 5 minutes late to class! They completely missed the history behind the new charm they learned that class. Which was actually quite an interesting charm. It was the _Creare Visione_ charm. It was quite useful for making things the way you pictured it. Mostly it was used for decorating a room, a cake, cookies, etc, the way you wanted to. But it could also be used for shaping materials that were difficult to shape. Hermione had been fascinated by the charm, she knew it would be so useful around the holidays, when decorating the house and cooking took hours, or sometimes even days. (She couldn't wait to host her first Christmas party! Although she would probably find some excuse to use the charm before then. The wand movement required to perform the charm was by far the most fun one she had ever performed.) But honestly! Harry and Ron caused her frustration to no end! She fervently wished that the history would be a question on their NEWTS, that outta show them! Hermione was positively fuming. From beside her Padma Patil gave a frustrated grunt. The gingerbread house they were supposed to be decorating was giving her trouble. She smiled, Padma was such a breath of fresh air sometimes. And she was so different from her twin, Parvati. Not that Hermione had an qualms with Parvati, but the girl was such a gossip sometimes! The Ravenclaw and her weren't necessarily close, but they were friends enough.

"Having trouble Padma?" Padma only gave a grunt to show she had hear. Hermione gave a small laugh. "Here, let me help." She reached over slightly and rolled up her sleeves so Padma could see her arms. "It's more of a flick, see?" She demonstrated.

"No, more of a little-" she reached over and grabbed her friend's wrist. "Like, yeah, more of a like-," she twirled Padma's wand. "There we go!" Padma grinned at Hermione.

"Thanks, Nee." Hermione smiled in response and turned back to her gingerbread house. She looked at it pensively and cast the spell. It was adorable, with little gumdrop decorations and roof tiles made from M&Ms. The door was a large chunk of chocolate. To finish it off she transfigured a gumdrop into a little gingerbread man. She frowned when she saw he was frowning. With a quick wave of her wand she turned the frown upside down. Still, something seemed a little off. Hermione gave a frustrated growl. The next 3 minutes were spent trying to get little Mr. Candy's (for that was his name) smile just right. The bell rang. His smile still wasn't perfect enough, but it would have to do.

She grabbed her things and shoved everything into her bag before grabbing her gingerbread house. Jogging over to Mr. Flitwick's desk, she was careful to not let it fall. She handed in her project with a small smile and ran out of the classroom. 'Harry and Ron are such IMBECILES. Honestly, I sometimes wish that they would just-' "OOF!" Her angry musings were interrupted when she ran into someone- hard. She went sprawling on the floor. With a wince she put a hand on her aching butt, that was going to bruise later. Hermione slowly picked up her things and made to stand up. She froze when she saw who she had run into. "Mafloy," she spat, "Watch where you're going." And, with a glare, she grabbed her things and stalked off. A couple seconds later Harry and Ron ran up. "Watch where you're going, Ferret" Harry hissed at him. Ron shoved him into the wall before running off after Hermione.

"Neeeeeee! Wait!" Harry ran after her. She continued to power walk away from them. It was a couple of seconds before Ron caught up with her and grabbed her wrist. "Her-ermi-mione, please," he panted, "we-we're so-Woooh, hang on. Lemm-me ca-tch my…my breath." A couple minutes passed. Hermione was still looking ahead, determined to not look at her two idiot friends. Harry finally spoke up, "Look Nee, we're really sorry. I know how important studies are to you, and that you just worry about us."

"Yeah," Ron cut in, "We're really sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to save us a seat." Harry slapped himself on the forehead, 'Trust Ron to completely miss the point of everything,' he thought to himself. But he smiled hopefully at Hermione. She glared at the both of them for a good couple of seconds before relenting. "Fine. I'll stop CARING about your guys' future," she said in a clipped tone. She kept her head held high and still wouldn't look at them. Ron opened his mouth, "Tha-" Harry elbowed his ribs. "ShutupRon," he hissed quietly. "Come on Hermione, don't be angry at us. We're really sorry. We promise to take our studies more seriously. Really." He smiled at her. She sighed in defeat. "Fine. But you two better get your act together!" She turned on her heel and began to walk away. The two boys rolled their eyes at each other, smiled and took off after her. Upon reaching her they both linked on of their arms in each of hers and the trio walked off.

"So Nee, I bet you're already just bursting to use to try out that new charm, eh?" Ron smiled cheekily at her.

"Yeah, I can just imagine you. Hosting your first Christmas party at your new flat, using that charm to make everything look JUST the way you're picturing it."

Hermione blushed. Harry and Ron knew her so well. That was exactly the setting she had imagined in class! She smiled at her two goofy friends. "Yes, if you must know Harold, that was EXACTLY how I was imagining it. Why, I feel so honored that you took the time to get to know me so well." Harold was the name she had made for him, for those times when Harry wasn't quite enough. Plus, it was amusing to think that Harold and Ronald almost rhymed with each other. "And, either way, I'm sure I'll find an excuse of some kind of use it BEFORE I get my new flat." Hermione, being the sensible and thought out girl she was, had already found a little apartment that was perfect for her. It was something she had always known, but the war had made her realize even more just how much she hated not being in control of things. It had pushed her to want perfection in every aspect and detail in her life, almost to the point of an obsession. She had everything planned down to the exact second, and it drove her mad if something was even a millisecond off. So, as soon as she was able to drag Harry and Ron away from the Burrow, she had roped them into a day of apartment hunting with her. Harry had still been moody, and hadn't took much interest in anything, but Ron…well, Ron was the same. He hadn't really listened to anything she said or did, but still, it was better than going alone. "Anyways you two, come on, let's grab a snack before we head to Herbology!" She linked her arms in theirs and the three were off.

Hermione was skipping with her arms still linked with the boys'. "We're off to see the Wizard! The wonderful Wizard of Oz," she sang before falling into a fit of laughter. Harry just gave her an amused eyebrow lift while Ron looked at her quizzically.

"Erm…Nee…what the bloody hell was that?" Ron asked her. "Wizard of Oz? What was he famous for? Runes?" At hearing this Harry and Hermione burst into a bought of laughter. "Oh Ron, you're honestly," she wiped tears from her eyes, "the sweetest thing ever! No, the Wizard of Oz comes from a muggle story. It's about a little girl and her doggie that magically get sent to another world. Anyways, I just sometimes have to sing it while I'm walking." '

"Uh huh…how come I've never heard you sing it before?" At this comment Hermione grew pensive….why had she suddenly gotten the urge to sing? It had been years since she last had.  
"You know something, I don't even know. I havent' sung that in ages! Actually, the last time I sang it was probably the day I got my Hogwarts letter. Maybe subconsciously, I thought if I kept singing it, the Wizard might get offended and punish me?" After hearing herself say that she burst out laughing again. "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me, I just…I just," she burst into a fit again. Harry looked at her adoringly. It wasn't often that Hermione would let go and show people this innocent, almost childish side of her. She was usually too stressed about someone or other and tried to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. It was nice to see her let go a little. He had hoped that the end of the War would show her that happiness was the only light a person could have, but if anything it had only made her more serious and collected. Seeing her like that lifted a burden off his shoulders. He knew that most of her stress had been because of him. She worried too much.

Ron looked at her as if she was losing her mind. "Erm….Nee…you feeling alright?" He looked almost apprehensive. After a couple of minutes Hermione finally calmed down enough to say, "Oh goodness gracious. What's gotten into me?" But upon seeing Ron's worried face she exploded again. "Oh honestly Ronald! You look like you've seen…I don't know…something scary!" She managed to say between fits of laughter. Harry grinned. "You mean, oh I dunno, maybe something like Snape in a dress?" Hermione was practically choking.

"Whoa Harry, she's got it bad. No one in their right mind would've laughed at that, I reckon," Ron said with a huge grin. The three had finally made it to the pear. "Care to do the honor, Nee?" Ron said with a mock bow. She flicked her hair back and said, "Why, yes. I would." And she tickled the pear. This brought about another peal of laughter. "It's so-so funny! That you have to tickle," laughter, "tickle a pear! I mean, what kind of pear is ticklish?"

"Oh, I dunno…maybe a frizzy haired one?" Ron said before attacking her with his fingers. Hermione squealed. "Ronald, you- you stop this- this-," she couldn't continue. It was too much, everyone knew she was incredibly ticklish. Harry grinned at his two friends. 'Honestly, the two can be such children,' he thought. "Alright Ron, alright. Let the girl breathe, don't want to kill her yet do we? We'' need her for out NEWTS!" Hermione stopped laughing just long enough to give him a death glare.

"Oh that is IT Harold! You are not-" she stopped all of a sudden and froze. Curious, Harry and Ron turned to see what had caused their friend to sober so quickly. The two got identical glares on their faces.

"Ferret. What're you doing here," Ron snarled. "Get your slimy arse out of here."

Draco sneered at the trio. "Well, Weasel. I don't think I will. After all, I was here first. Besides, I don't obey other people. Other people obey me."

"That's a lot of big talk coming from someone who couldn't stand up to a noseless, half-blooded git." Hermione cut in, she had finally recovered from her initial shock. "Besides, it's not important who was here firt."

He cocked his eyebrow. "Then do tell me, if you'd be so kind, what IS the important thing?"

"It matters who wins. See, it wouldn't matter if you were here first, would it, if we were to beat you senseless and kick your ass out the door? We'd end up in here, and you…well you'd end up out there." She had an innocent look on her face, but her posture was tense.

"Touché. Well, I can clearly see I'm outnumbered. Fine, I suppose I'll just leave. Good day." He looked over the three of them. "Yes Weasel, three IS more than one. I'm glad you've learned to count over the winter." With that, he strode past them and left the kitchen.


	5. Hermione Wanders

**a/n: hello again! :) hope you guys enjoyy! this was more of a filler chapter, but starting next chapter the true story shall commence! i think, haha**

**please read and REVIEW! =) **

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Draco smirked to himself as he strode out of the kitchen. Granger was adorable when she lost her controlled exterior. It was a side to her he had never seen before. He had been visiting the house elves for his daily dose of cupcakes (a result of the war) when the annoying trio had walked in. He smiled at the memory. He had been taking the little box from Winky when he heard something strange. His ear cocked. 'Is that...laughter?' he had thought. Something about laugh had struck him as somewhat familiar, but he had been certain he had never heard that laugh before. Why was it so enthralling? Time had frozen as he stood there listening to the raucous laughter. Its uninhibited, vaguely harsh feel was captivating. He couldn't figure out what it was. Imagine his surprise when he saw the "Golden Trio" (or whatever ridiculous name everyone was currently calling them) walk in. His surprise had multiplied ten-fold when he realized it was coming from Granger. He smirked. Who knew the beaver had such a childish side? It was so…unbecoming. He knew none of them had come from the same lofty upbringing he had, but still…couldn't they show SOME class? 'Although I'm not sure Weasel can afford to have any' he thought.

Before he knew it he had reached the Slytherin common room.

"Ah, my dear friends, how are you this fine afternoon?" He said with an air of exaggerated pompousness. Blaise merely cocked his eyebrow at him, while Pnasy giggled.

"It was absolutely horrendous until about, oh, 5 seconds ago." She said giggling.

"Is that so, milady? Might I be so bold as to inquire why that is? Don't tell me…Blaise was mistreating you!" He pretended to look shocked.

Pansy looked a bit confused before comprehension dawned on her face, "Oh, he was, Drakie! Absolutely horrible! Save me from this…this madman!" Next to her, Blaise sighed in annoyance.

"Ok, that's enough. Honestly Draco, must you do this every time you see her? And where are those cupcakes you promised us?'

Draco feigned ignorance. "My good man, I must insist I do not know what you mean! What is this thing you accuse me of? I daresay you will not lay a finger on these cupcakes until you explain yourself!" He finished his statement with a flourish, producing the box from underneath his robes. Pansy squealed and began clapping.

"Oh Drakie! You're the best! Is there chocolate?" She gushed. He obliged by taking out a chocolate cupcake, complete with chocolate frosting. He handed it to her. She squealed again and went off to eat it in peace. Draco smiled and shook his head at her retreating figure.

"Blaise, I'm sorry. Though you must admit it's amusing to see her like that, no?" He offered him a vanilla cupcake with dark chocolate frosting as an olive branch. Blaise stared at it for a couple of seconds before accepting it.

"I suppose so. It'd be appreciated, however, if you could do that without having her be so squeaky." He took a bite and smiled. It was delicious. Like a piece of heaven on earth. "Mmm, dark chocolate is so good. Reminds me when I was younger. Mother used to always have dark chocolate lying around. And of course I, being the sly child I was, would always find a way to sneak some."

Draco gave a hearty laugh, "Of course, of course. It's amazing glass doesn't shatter around her. You used to like dark chocolate as a child? Weren't you a little oddball. Actually, you remain an oddball so my point is moot." He smirked.

"Oh hush you," Blaise took another bite of cupcake. "Oh, we better get going. It's almost time for charms." He stood up and brushed nonexistent crumbs off his robes. Draco nodded.

"Pansy! Let's go!" Draco said loudly. He didn't yell. Yelling was a commoner's thing to do. Hardly fit for someone so aristocratic as himself. A few seconds later, and she still hadn't responded. The two boys shrugged and left the common room.

They reached the classroom just on time. The second bell rang just as they opened the door. They gave a small bow to Professor Flitwick and went to find seats. Since they had arrived (almost) late, there weren't many seats left. Just a couple here and there. The two friends separated.

Draco sat down and Flitwick began to talk. He paid attention for the first 10 minutes but his mind started to wander. His mind shut out the sounds of Flitwick, who was droning on and on. His mind began to travel, taking him to different places. He wondered what his mother was doing in Brazil. Was she enjoying the warm, sunny weather? Ho was she getting along without magic? He wondered how his father was faring in Azkaban. 'I hope they aren't treating him too poorly,' he thought. Contrary to popular belief, Lucious Malfoy was not a bad father. He was arrogant and occasionally cruel to those he considered beneath himself, but to his family he was loving and warm. 'I wonder if I could-' his thoughts were interrupted by the door banging open. He jumped (only slightly, because Malfoy's didn't show surprise or fright. He grew up learning to keep his cool- no matter what). At the door stood a furious Pansy. It was physically possible to feel the waves of anger and heat rolling off her body.  
"I'm sorry, Professor. It won't happen again," she said with false sweetness. Draco glanced at Blaise, who was looking at him as well. The two looked at each other knowingly; Pansy was going to rip their guts out later.

She took a seat at the table next to Draco's and proceeded to glare daggers at him. Draco decided to ignore her and tried to recall his train of thought. 'Ah, yes, maybe I could get that old coot to let me-' he was interrupted again, this time by an angry hiss. He froze. 'Nagini? But that's impossible. She was decapitated! She-' another hiss. His eyes widened and he felt his blood run cold. "Draco!" someone hissed. Couple seconds later he relaxed, it was only Pansy.

"What?" he whispered in annoyance.

"I can't believe you two just left me!"

"I called you. You're the one that didn't answer!" he said dismissively. She glared at him even harder.

"Look here, mister-" she was cut off by Flitwick.

"Miss Parkinson, would you be so kind as to tell the whole class what is so interesting that you must interrupt me to talk to Mister Malfoy?"

"No Professor," she said, blushing furiously.

"No? Well, if I were late, I would spend less time talking and more time trying to catch up on the material. 5 points from Slytherin. Now, back to the charm. The _Creare Visione _charm…"

Draco's mind wandered again. This time he found himself thinking about a certain fuzzy haired brunette. Her laugh was intoxicating. But so repulsive at the same time. What kind of girl laughed like that? 'Although…not that I think about it, I'm not sure if I could say Granger is a girl, per say. I would say maybe she's like a…more of a…hmm…what is she? I'm not sure, but definitely not a girl.' Draco felt Pansy's eyes boring through his face again. He turned and gave her a glare. Honestly, the girl could hold a grudge! Pansy gave him a look that clearly said, "We WILL talk later." He rolled his eyes and began to pay attention to Flitwick. _Creare Visione_, huh? Interesting spell. 'I'll probably never use it though. I mean, house elves exist for a reason, right? Still, it'll be useful for someday…if I ever find myself without house elves.' He suddenly snorted at the idea. Blaise turned around and gave him a quizzical look. Draco just shook his head. 'Honestly, to think I'll ever be without house elves. Ridiculous.' He then set himself to decorating his gingerbread house. How boring, what kind of purpose did this even serve? He yawned, this class was so pointless. Still, he had an assignment to do. He flourished his wand and said the incantation. His house looked boring, at best. There was no life, even considering it was a gingerbread house. 'Maybe it needs a gingerbread man' he thought. He transfigured an M&M. His gingerbread man was mediocre at best. He was slowly growing frustrated. 'What the hell is wrong with this assignment?' He considered his gingerbread man. 'I shall name him Lancelot.' "So, Lance, let's try and figure out what's wrong with you…" he said to himself quietly. He finally figured it out. The eyes. Even though they were only little dots of frosting, there was nothing behind them. The smile was empty. 'Dammit Lance, what's wrong with you? Get your act together!' Just then, the bell rang. Draco gave one last disgusted look at his eerie gingerbread man and got up to hand it in.

Hermione woke with a start, gasping. 'Blimey, these nightmares just won't go away, will they…' She turned over to look at her digital clock. The blaring numbers nearly blinded her. She squinted and let her eyes adjust to the light- it read 4:50. She groaned. 'So much for sleep…I wonder if Harry's up,' she thought to herself. With a stretch she got up and grabbed a thin jacket. Quietly she walked over to the door and opened it- it creaked slightly. She tip toe'd down the stairs and looked towards the couch in front of the fireplace. She knew that was where Harry went when he couldn't sleep. However, he was nowhere in sight. Hermione frowned slightly, 'Well, so much for that. Maybe I'll just go for a quick walk. Yeah, that'll tire me out.' She grinned widely, why had she never thought of taking a walk before? With a slight bounce in her steps she practically skipped out the door.

The cold air in the hallway hit her immediately. Hermione took a deep breath and began humming quietly as she walked down the corridors. 'Where should I go…I think outside would be quite nice. I might even be able to see the sunrise! But I don't think I should go outside yet…Now that I think about it though…watching the sunrise would be lovely. Where could I go to see the sunrise….'she pondered. After several minutes of tip toe-ing around she finally thought of a place. "Ah ha! Why didn't I think of it before? The Astronomy Tower! What a perfect place!' she thought triumphantly. With a hop and a skip she began walking quickly towards the Astronomy Tower.

Hermione was humming to herself as she climbed up the stairs. It truly was a lovely day. Her good mood, however, quickly turned sour as she climbed without seeing the end. 'Honestly, why is this dang tower so high up? And with magic you'd think someone would have invented something like escalators! Sometimes muggles are so much more innovative than witches and wizards.' A few minutes later she reached the top step, panting. She bent over and put her hands on her knees. "Whew! I really need to start working out. This is NOT going to cut it for the semester." Suddenly she froze. 'What was that? I could have sworn I just heard a-' she heard it again. It was a snicker. She whipped her wand out. Being in the war had heightened her senses and made her cautious. Slowly turning, she turned around slowly, looking for the source. Her eyes finally landed on the culprit.

Her eyes widened and she gasped.


	6. What's Going On?

a/n: hello again! :) finally some dramione interaction! i'm sorry if the story doesn't quite flow smoothly...sometimes i forget what i've written. anyways, please review! constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated! :D

special thanks to lovable leo for always reviewing 3

disclaimer: i don't own harry potter

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"Malfoy? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked. She was too shocked to show anything more than, well, shock. "What could a pompous, spoiled little rich boy like you be doing up here, at this time of day?" Her shock was being slowly replaced with hatred. She bristled when he didn't even acknowledge her presence. 'Fine, two can play at that game.' With an angry 'hmph' she chose a window and went to stand in front of it. Minutes passed in silence, and soon Hermione forgot there was an offending presence in the room. It was still somewhat dark, but already she could see the rays peaking through the shadows. It was absolutely blissful. She took a deep, contented breath. 'Mmm, this is just what I needed' she thought with elation. 'I haven't felt so at peace since-' her thoughts were cut off by someone sneezing. "Bless you," she said without thinking and started turning around. "Why thank you, Granger," a snooty voice said. Hermione froze mid-turn: she had forgotten who else was in the room.

"Actually, I think I'll take that back. Also, let's go back to not speaking, shall we? It was quite nice forgetting your existence." She turned back around, facing her window again.

"Tsk tsk Granger, I know you weren't brought up with proper manners, but I thought it common sense that once a 'bless you' is given, it can't be taken back. Or, perhaps it's different in Muggleland?" Draco said, smirking. He was trying to rile her up, and it was working. 'Good Merlin, there's nothing as glorious as Granger when she's angry.' This was only the second day since the semester had begun, and already Draco's mind was constantly wandering to Granger and her bushy, know-it-all head. It was quite disgusting, really, but who was he to argue with himself? And he couldn't help but think that an angry Granger was a magnificent one. 'Honestly, what is it about her that's so…fascinating…when she's angry? It's like her hair frizzes up even more or something…'

"And what do you think you're smirking at, Ferretboy?" came Hermione's voice from the other side of the room. Draco's eyes widened. It was true, he had unknowingly begun to smirk as he thought. His smirk only grew. 'How did she kno-' his thought was cut off by her voice again.

"Wondering how I knew? I'm surprised you don't know how I know. I mean, you do spend enough time calling me a know-it-all." She said it with such a venom that Malfoy was taken aback. "I know you mean it as an offense, but honestly, I DO know it all. Thank you very much for noticing," her voice was dripping with false sweetness.

"My pleasure, Granger. Although, I'm pretty sure you DON'T know it all. In fact, I can think of a lot of things you don't know."

"Oh, is that so? Such as?" She was still looking out her window, and Draco wasn't going to have that.

"Oh, I don't know…it's hardly worth my time tutoring you in all the things you are ignorant of," he said nonchalantly. He was determined to see her face as it grew red with rage.

"Please, I'd hardly consider it tutoring if you just list off things you don't know, and suspect I don't either. In case you didn't know, the definition of tutoring is fairly similar to that of teaching. So, in order for you to "tutor" me, I'm afraid you'd have to actually teach me something. Which is, of course, something we all know you're incapable of doing," she said with equal nonchalance. Still not looking at him.

"Is that so, Yucky? Are you sure about that? I do admit that perhaps tutor wasn't the best word. But do you really think there isn't anything that I know that you…don't? Nothing at all?" She stilled. He smirked, 'I've got you now, Granger.'

'He's just bluffing, Hermione. Don't listen to him. What on earth could he know that you don't? Still…he DID spend the last year or so hanging around Voldemort…what if he heard something that we haven't?' Her eyes widened. 'What if there's something evil going on right now?' She whirled around, her heart racing. She opened her mouth to start yelling but thought better of it. 'Keep your cool, raising his suspicion isn't going to do anything. He'll probably just clam up.' She put on a mask of disinterest. "And do tell, what this…thing you know about is? As you like to point out so often, I revel in knowing everything just as much as Harry revels in his fame. Although we both know that I said it with a much more sophisticated vocabulary." She smiled sweetly at him.

Draco frowned. 'Why isn't she angry yet? By now she usually has steam blowing out of her ears…I'll have to step up my game.'

"Oh, you know…just the usual…dark stuff. One doesn't spend more than a year in the Dark Lord's presence without picking up on a thing or two." He looked at his nails, but out of the corner of his eye he could see Granger's eyes widen. It was hard, but he held back his smirk. She was so predictable. Seriously, all you had to do was talk a bit about something she didn't know and she went crazy. So childish. And so gullible…'How gullible can a person BE?' Draco wondered to himself. 'Most of all Granger…I thought she was the smartest witch of our year or some crap like that…' He saw her opening her mouth to say something but cut in first, "Ah yes…the Dark Lord…taught me a great deal of things. And I am quite confident when I say that he taught me things you don't know." He gave her a small, tight smile.

On the other side of the room, Hermione was reeling. She wasn't quite sure what Malfoy was implying, but it couldn't be anything good. Suddenly, the air in the tower was slipping away. Her throat constricted, and she felt like she couldn't breathe. 'What if it isn't over? Oh, Merlin, no. All those things…no. It can't be…' Hermione was suddenly seeing black spots. Her head was spinning and the ground felt like it was going to flip over any second. She took one look at Malfoy, her eyes wide. He was just standing there, smirking. He hadn't noticed her sudden change in demeanor yet. 'I have to get out.' The fear was squeezing her heart, and suddenly she didn't know if she was safe in Malfoy's presence. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Malfoy's smirk fade. He cocked his eyebrow at her, and he started walking towards her. Hermione's eyes nearly popped out of her head. And she ran.

* * *

'What the bloody hell was that all about?' wondered Draco. He was still in the Astronomy Tower, leaning on his window. The rays of the sun were coming up now, and the sky lit up in a mixture of blue and yellow and orange. He sighed. No one ever thought about how war affected the losing side. The bad side. History only cared about what happened to the heroes- the ones who had saved the world. Society only focused on the victims- those who lost their lives, their families, their homes. People only felt for those who had suffered. Yet no one stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, not everyone on the bad side was actually bad. The world was not black and white, but that's what everyone thought. Draco was sure that deep inside, people knew about those shades of gray in between. But no one wanted to face that truth. Simply because it's easier not to. Everyone's happy thinking what they've always thought- until something came along and turned their world upside down.

The sunrise was something he could always count on. No matter what happened in a day, no matter who died or who disappeared, the sun would always rise. Since the 6th year, Draco had looked for the sunrise. It didn't matter what happened; the sun would rise. When no one else was there for him, the sun was. It had been his constant companion, the only one who heard his cries and sorrow. Everything he had done he did for his family, and the sun knew that. 'Still, maybe it'd be nice to have a human know that too…' he thought with a sigh. 'Actually, Draco Malfoy, what the hell do you think you're thinking? Human companionship? What a load of bollocks. You don't need that rubbish.' He was feeling indignant. 'Remember, Malfoy's fly solo.' He turned away from the window and began walking down the stairs.

Several minutes later (and one almost run-in with Filch) he made it to the Slytherin common room. The fireplace was out, leaving the room dark and dank. He crinkled his nose in disgust. 'I know people think we're just a bunch of slimy snakes, but seriously. Purebloods should NOT live underwater. ESPECIALLY not Malfoys.' His feet were taking him towards his room, but he wasn't tired. So instead he decided to stay in the common room. He headed towards the armchair next to the window. He knew he always complained about living underwater, but in reality only the dormitories were actually under the lake. The common room was level with the Black Lake, so there were windows they could see the sky from…they just got really foggy and wet. With a big sigh he plopped down into the armchair. It was made of a velvety material. The plushiness was comforting, and he felt his body sinking into the cushion. He took a deep, calming breath and began to think back to the Astronomy Tower. Granger's reaction was confusing. All he wanted to do was rile her up a little bit, he didn't understand why she freaked out so much. 'She sure is a weird one…I swear, she's like a Chihuahua or something. Or a bipolar rabbit…Wait, what? Did I just think of Granger as a rabbit? What the hell…' Her reaction was truly confusing. He had never seen her freaking out like that. She always managed to keep her cool in whatever situation she was thrust into- like at the Manor. He had seen her handle torture with a (somewhat) clear mind; what had he said that had freaked her out so much? He thought back to everything he had said, but nothing screamed, "HEY LOOK, I'LL FREAK GRANGER OUT!" to him. Nothing seemed extreme or out of the ordinary. All the words out of his mouth had been words he would have said in any situation. (Although probably most likely in Granger's presence.)

Before he knew it the sun had risen and it was 7:30, in 30 minutes he knew Pansy would be coming down to head to breakfast. Blaise, he knew, would be down in 20. His stomach grumbled, and he wondered if he should wait or go first. In the end he decided to just wait it out- which was weird. Normally he would've just gone ahead without them, but for some reason, he felt compelled to wait today.

* * *

In another part of the castle, a certain brunette was pacing furiously in her common room. 'I shouldn't have run away like that…now he'll know I'm onto him…oh Merlin, what do I do now…' She was furious with herself. One of the few things she took pride in was her ability to maintain her cool and her clear thinking. And the one time she needed it, she lost it. 'I can't BELIEVE I did that! Now we'll probably never know what he meant! I could have just blown a once in a lifetime opportunity!' Her pacing grew more and more frantic. 'Oh great! Now I'm biting my nails!' Nail biting was a habit she had picked up on when she was a little girl. She had managed to finally quit, but sometimes it crept up on her- especially when she was having a breakdown. All the pacing was making her dizzy, but she couldn't stop. 'It's only been what…like, 10 minutes since I ran away? Maybe I could go back and try to…oh, no no…it'll take me at least 5 minutes to get there again, and that's if I run. It'll be too late by then.'

She wished with all her heart that Harry would come down. For a couple minutes she contemplated going upstairs and waking him up. But it seemed he was finally having a peaceful night's sleep, and she didn't want to be the one to disturb that. Still…if there were ever a time for needing someone to talk to, it was at that moment. After a couple more minutes of furious pacing her dizziness was starting to catch up to her. She tripped on her feet and almost fell over. 'Oooookaay, I should probably sit down now.' With a heavy heart she fell onto the sofa in front of the fireplace. There was a fire roaring and she let the warmth wash over her. Hermione closed her eyes. Before she knew it, sleep overtook her.

A couple minutes later someone walked down the stairs. He yawned and walked towards the couch. His eyes were half-closed and he was dragging his feet. 'It's way too early for this. Can't believe I woke up this early. I swear Hermione's rubbing off too much on me.' He smiled tiredly. Even though they had agreed to just stay friends, he still had a major soft spot for her. He was still smiling and thinking about her as he sat down. His bum sat on something squishy, and he yelped. "What the bloody hell?" He yelled. With a glare he turned to see what he almost sat on. As soon as his eyes fell on who it was his expression softened.

Her hair was splayed out all over the sofa, framing her face like a weird, hairy halo. He leaned over to brush some of the hair out of her face. His eyes glistened. She looked so angelic. It was hard for him to see her so stressed out all the time. It was harder knowing he was one of the main causes. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen her so relaxed, without a care in the world. Even though he couldn't see her eyes, he knew what he would see if they were open. Those clear, brown eyes were like a hole. They drew him in, and often he found himself getting lost in them.

Without realizing it, his face started moving towards her.


	7. Let The Games Begin!

**a/n: hi everyone! sorry for the suuper long delay:( this semester was kinda crazy! and to be honest, i wasn't sure what to write...i was actually planning on finishing the whole story and then uploading the chapters one by one, but i figured i would upload this one now:) ! as always, please read and review:)**

**also, i own nothing :(**

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Hermione woke up with a yawn. She felt groggy and her eyes felt like they were glued together. Her back creaked and she stretched her arms above her head. She arched her back until it popped. Sensing something above her she peeked one eye open. "Oh! Hello Ron, "she said with a smile. Her smile faltered a little. "Uh, what are you doing?" Ron stopped and opened his eyes. His head was halfway to her's and his lips were slightly puckered. "Oh, uh…hello Nee…" The air suddenly felt thicker and Ron's face flushed scarlet. Hermione looked at her friend with a puzzled look. "Whatcha doing?" She cocked her head slightly. "Do I have something on my face?" Ron blushed even harder.

"Uh…no."

"Then why are you so close to my face?"

"Oh, uh, no, actually, I meant yeah. You have a little, something…right there…" He pointed awkwardly at her cheek. "I was just trying to wipe it off."

She frowned. "Oh…ok, thanks." She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. "There, did I get it?" He nodded. "Yeah, it's, uh, it's gone now," he mumbled. He scratched his head. Hermione gave him a quizzical look. "Ron, is something wrong? You're really red right now, and it's not that hot in here…" He shook his head vigorously, causing Hermione to laugh.

"So…do you think you can get off me then?" She said, chuckling. "You're kind of heavy." Ron's face turned such a deep shade of red he looked ready to explode. Hermione burst into laughter at his face. He mumbled something and got off, moving to the other side of the sofa. Chuckling, Hermione got up and leaned back on her arms. "What are you doing up so early? What time is it?"

"Uh, 'bout time for breakfast. Wanna head down?"

She stretched again, "Mmmm, ok. But what about Harry? Shouldn't we wait for him?"

"Oh, right. Harry…yeah, sure. Let me go wake him up." He stood up to leave. Giving Hermione one last embarrassed glance, he turned and left. Hermione looked at his retreating figure. 'Wonder what was up with him? Oh, bollocks. I hope I wasn't drooling in my sleep.' Her brow furrowed. She hoped Harry was already waking up: she didn't want Ron to be waking him up unnecessarily. 'I wonder if Harry's been sleeping better lately,' she mused. Her nightmares were still plaguing her, and weren't showing signs of relenting anytime soon. Half of her hoped Harry was better off, but the other half almost liked having someone going through something so similar as her- it made her feel less alone, and it made the nightmares almost easier to bear. Her thoughts wandered back to Ron, 'I wonder what's up with him…I mean, I know he's kind of weird sometimes, but that was beyond weird…' Hermione thought to herself as she looked at Ron's retreating figure. Things had been a little weird between them ever since they had their little "talk," but she was trying her best to not let it bother her too much. She trusted that their friendship would survive, intact. Still, it was hard keeping her spirits up. She felt like they didn't talk like they used to, and it was always a little tense when they were left alone. Not seeing him during the "break" had definitely helped a lot, but their relationship was not quite fixed yet. It was getting there, just very slowly. 'Maybe it's recovering a little bit TOO slowly…I know it's too slow for my liking…still…maybe that's just what he needs right now…or maybe he doesn't even think anything's wrong. Merlin knows how dense Ron can be sometimes. Perhaps he's not even being dense, maybe I'm the one who's freaking out about this for no reason…yeah…maybe that's what's going on right now!' Hermione was roughly pulled back to the present by a large crash. Surprised, she looked over towards the sound. At the sight that met her eyes met her eyebrows flew up into her hair. After a couple seconds of stunned silence she burst into laughter. In front of her was a pile of clothes, books, red and black hair. It had taken her a couple of seconds to figure out what was going on, but once she had she couldn't help but laugh at her two friends.

"Let me guess…Ron was in such a hurry to get to breakfast that he lost control of those long, thin things he calls his legs, and tripped. And you just "happened" to be in the way, Harry?" At the disgruntled noise from the bottom of the pile she burst out laughing again. "Well come on you two! We really are gonna miss breakfast if we don't hurry!" She reached her hand out and grabbed a handful of cloth. Or…what she thought was cloth, and yanked hard. "OOOOWWWWW HERMIONE!" Came a loud yell of Harry, "Do you NOT recognize hair when you touch it?!" Harry emerged from underneath Ron with an extremely disgruntled look, rubbing his head tenderly. Hermione's hands went up to her mouth, "Oh! I'm so sorry Harry!" Harry moaned, "Also, Hermione, how strong are you?! I swear I felt my scalp pull away from my skull a little bit." Hermione blushed and laughed, "Well now you know not to mess with me! I really am sorry though." She extended her hand to help him up. "Ron! Gerroff me!" Harry grunted, "You REALLY need to lose weight, mate."

"It's baby fat! It'll go away later, I'm still growing." As he got up Ron pretended to fall again and landed on Harry with a slight "Ooomph." "Oh, I'm sorry, did I fall on you?" He asked Harry in mock surprise. Hermione giggled at her two childish friends. "Oh, come on Ron," she said, grabbing his arm and tugging. "Get off Harry before you hurt him! You really are heavy, you know." She tugged again and he finally got up, dusting invisible dust off his bum. He then turned to Harry and grasped his hand firmly. "Sorry mate. The first one really was an accident," he winked at his disgruntled friend and squeezed his hand. Harry returned the pressure and got off the floor, with the help of Ron. "Now, c'mon! I'm staring!" Ron yelled. And at that exact moment his stomach gave a loud growl. The three friends left the common room laughing and joking about Ron's bottomless pit of a stomach. The morning's incident quickly moved to the back of Hermione's mind. Besides, who has time for troubles when surrounded by friends?

* * *

"Ron, PLEASE chew before you swallow! You're going to choke on something one of these days." Hermione berated him. It was some sort of morning ritual between the two friends: Ron would shovel food down his throat and Hermione would chastise him, he always ignored her, but he did chew his food a little before swallowing.

"So, did you hear about the Quidditch match?" Ron said, swallowing his treacle tart.

"Mmm, which one you talking about?"

"The one the Chudley Canons played in this past weekend!" Ron said with a tone of "what other game would I want to discuss?"

Hermione groaned. As much as she loved her two friends, when they got started on Quidditch she just droned them out. 'Let's see…what classes do I have today…homework, check…parchment, check…textbooks…quill…ink…check check check." She glanced over at her friends, who were still deep in Quidditch talk. Hermione sighed and looked at Ron. 'I wonder why he was being so weird today. So weird…odd…oddball…oddity…odual..oh, haha," she giggled to herself. 'Odual…what?' She picked up her glass of chocolate milk and took a long sip. As she put her cup down the doors to the Great Hall burst open. Instinctively her eyes went towards the large noise. And as her eyes went towards the doors, another pair of eyes went towards the Gryffindor table. She squeaked ever so slightly as her eyes met those of Draco Malfoy. As her eyes locked with the pale, almost silver eyes of Malfoy the morning's incident came rushing back to her forcefully. In her surprise she spilled some of her chocolate milk all over the front of her robes. "Oh crap!' she exclaimed, grabbing a handful of napkins to clean it off. However, she was a tad too slow and the milk had already stained her robes, leaving behind a large black mark. "Oh freaking crap! That's just great. This day could not get any worse…and I don't even have time to change…" she grumbled to herself. She dabbed at the stain a couple more times, but it was to no avail. She gave a frustrated groan and threw the napkins on the table. It was turning into one of those days. She looked up and saw Ron and Harry giving her weird looks. "What?" she snapped at them. It wasn't even 9 in the morning and already the day could not be worse- she didn't need their attitudes making things any harder. "Erm…Nee…" Ron began awkwardly, "you can just…ya know…use your wand…"

After a slight pause Hermione answered, "Oh…well, yes…that is true…" She cleared her throat, embarrassed. With a simple wand movement she cleaned the stain from her robes. "Anyways, moving on. You two were discussing Quidditch, I believe?"

Ron and Harry just sat there staring at her. Clearly they thought she was going slightly crazy. (It wasn't a new idea for them, but some days were worse than others.) "Hermione, is everything alright?" Harry asked tentatively. He looked slightly wary, as if worried she was going to lash out at him. For a second Hermione had an internal struggle- she was torn between telling them what had happened that morning and keeping face. She sighed, "No, everything is not ok." Subconsciously her eyes flickered to the Slytherin table. Malfoy wasn't looking at her or anywhere near her, in fact he seemed to be engrossed in his bowl of porridge or whatever it was he ate for breakfast. Satisfied that no one was listening, Hermione continued. "Something kind of happened this morning," she began, "I went up to the Astronomy Tower this morning to watch the sunrise." At this Harry gave her a concerned look, but she ignored it- but she knew that wouldn't be the end of it, he was probably going to interrogate her first chance he got. Quickly she told the two everything that had happened that morning, rushing through before her courage failed her. When she finished Harry's face was white as a sheet, but Ron was as disinterested as could be.

"So…you think it might not be over yet?" Harry asked in a shaky voice. Hermione realized with a pang that he was still having nightmares (she could take care of that later). Hermione shrugged. "I don't know Harry…he might just have been trying to freak me out. Dammit! I shouldn't have freaked out. Maybe I could've gotten him to talk a bit more. Now we might never know…" As hard as she tried, Hermione couldn't stop the tear that fell. A second later the tears began welling up behind her eyes again. It was all her fault. The one time her logical brain could have helped her she had gone and mucked it up. "Oh no Nee! Don't cry, it's not your fault. Nothing's gonna happen, ok? Trust me." Ron reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly. But Hermione wasn't convinced. She tried to hold her tears back, but they were still threatening to fall. Ron grew more worried and his frown grew. He quickly elbowed Harry, who looked like he himself was in some sort of state of shock, in the ribs. Harry snapped out of it quickly and glared at Ron, who glared right back at him and nudged his head in Hermione's direction. "Right, Harry?" Ron said in a strained, and meaningful, voice. "Tell her nothing is her fault, and that everything's alright." Harry's eyes widened when he saw Hermione's face.

"Yeah, Nee. Ron is right. Don't beat yourself up over this. I'm sure it was nothing- Malfoy's probably just trying to freak you out. And 'sides, I'm sure any one of us would have reacted the same way. You didn't do ANYTHING wrong." He saw her dubious face and added, "Really, Nee." He reached over, grabbed her other hand and squeezed. Hermione gave her two friends a watery smile. "Oh…thank you guys! You guys are the best!" She squeezed their hands and let go with a smile. Within seconds she had a new cup of chocolate milk in her hands and was sipping away happily. Ron and Harry gave her weird looks yet again.

"So…Nee. Is it, by any chance, your…special time?" Harry asked teasingly.

"Yeah Nee…Maybe you spilled your milk to cover up a different stain?" Ron winked at her.

"Oh, ha-ha you two. Very funny. You better hope it's not that time, or I'll have you two running errands for me all night, every night!"

"Merlin, NO! I REFUSE to get up at 3 in the morning to get you chocolate milk again!" Harry mock groaned.

"Well then I suppose you'll have to lend Ron your cloak and map so that he can do it for you, won't you? But we all know that's not going to happen. Besides, you two know how it works. I go down, we ALL go down." She gave the boys a smug smile.

"I still don't get why he won't lend me his cloak and map…" Ron grumbled all of a sudden.

* * *

From across the Hall a set of icy eyes stared at the bushy haired girl. "What do you think she's laughing about?" Draco said softly, more to himself than anyone else. "What, Draco?" Pansy asked from beside him. "What?" Draco responded distractedly.

"You said something, but I didn't quite catch it," Pansy pushed. Draco had been acting kind of strange the whole morning and she had been wondering why. "Draco, is everything alright? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no Pansy. Everything's alright, I'm sorry. I just…I've been feeling a bit distracted lately. It's nothing though." He gave her a cocky smile. "Why? You worried about me?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her. Pansy burst out laughing. "Oh, please Draco. You wish I'd worry about you. I was just asking because it's quite distracting for me when you're mumbling to yourself in my ear." She then turned to Blaise and the two began talking about one of their classes. Draco droned out their voices and returned to his thoughts. What were those two doing for a moment there? It looked like they were holding hands, he wasn't sure what was going on. But he didn't like it one bit. He couldn't figure out how Scarhead and Weaslebee made her laugh so much and so often. Surely their jokes would be below her level of intellect? He figured they were to her what Crabbe and Goyle were to him. Though perhaps Potterhead deserved a little more credit than that, he did, after all, defeat the Dark Lord. (Although Draco actually gave Hermione most of the credit for that.) But still…he frowned in concentration. Then, it suddenly hit him. She wasn't laughing with them…she was laughing AT them! There was no way she found those two dunderheads her equals. Suddenly feeling elated, Draco smiled smugly to himself, feeling loads better already. Feeling pleased with himself, he turned to his two colleagues and joined the conversation.

"WHAT!? YOU CAN'T BE SEROUS!" Pansy suddenly screamed.  
"Pansy, please. Calm down. I'm not saying I'm going to DO something about it. Just…stating an…opinion, I suppose," Blaise was saying calmly while looking disinterestedly at his fingernails. Draco looked at Pansy's outraged face curiously. "What's going on? What are you two talking about?" he asked. While he really wanted to hear the answer, he was also afraid of what it would be.

Pansy just turned towards him with her mouth hanging open. She seemed too shocked to say anything, so he turned towards Blaise for an answer. Draco made a slightly disgusted face- Pansy wasn't the prettiest of girls at her best, and her making that face wasn't making her look any prettier. After a couple seconds of silence, he cleared his throat.

"Well?" he said impatiently. He hated having to wait for anything. Blaise looked at Draco slightly uncomfortably and cleared his throat. "Well, I was just telling our darling Pansy that I don't find Weaslette…unattractive, so to speak." This brought Pansy out of her trance-like state. "WHAT!?" She shrieked again. "How can you THINK that?!" Her voice was reaching new levels of shrill and people were starting to stare from all across the Hall. Draco rolled his eyes at her and nudged her slightly in the ribs, motioning with his eyes that people were staring. Getting the hint, Pansy dropped her voice several octaves before speaking again. "It's the Weasel we're talking about! That dirt poor little blood traitor wench!" Blaise simply continued to examine his fingernails. "Yes, Pansy. That IS the only Weaslette we know. I'm not saying I want to pursue anything with her. Just that she is quite attractive. Which is somewhat of a miracle considering what her brothers all look like." And then, almost as an afterthought, Blaise added, "As well as Granger." Both Pansy's and Draco's eyes nearly bulged out of their heads. "WHAT!?" Both of them screeched at the same time. Draco was absolutely confused. What did Blaise see in her? He knew what he saw in her, but Blaise? Blaise hadn't seen her that night. He hadn't been there. Blaise didn't have to go through what he had gone through. Besides, they were talking about different things. Granger…attractive? "Blaise, mate…have you lost your mind?" Draco finally managed to choke out, after almost a minute of absolute silence. "Granger…attractive?" Blaise simply rolled his eyes, "Yes Draco. ATTRACTIVE. Would you like me to spell it out for you?" "Maybe you haven't noticed, but I have. And she's grown into quite a….ah, desirable woman." The cheeky tart even had the nerve to wiggle his eyebrows at Draco. Draco choked on his orange juice and ended up coughing it all over Pansy. That brought her out of her shock and she looked ready to pass out. Blaise smirked at the two and looked over at the Gryffindor table. Granger was laughing at something- Weasel, without a doubt. Blood status no longer mattered to Blaise. The only bad thing about her now was her insufferable, know-it-all attitude (and even that was no longer so insufferable as before). Still, that didn't mean he couldn't have a little bit of fun with her. Commoners loved when royalty graced them with their presence, did they not? What girl would dislike his attentions? Blaise's smirk grew. Oh yes, he was going to have some fun this year.

Draco was watching Blaise with narrowed eyes. Blaise had looked over to the Gryffindor table with a dangerous glint in his eyes. It was the look he always got before he went "hunting." And Draco didn't like that he was looking at the Gryffindors. But he wasn't sure if Blaise was looking at the Weaslette or at the Gryffindor Princess. He didn't give a rat's ass about the red head, but Granger was his. He would just have to wait and see what Blaise's next move would be. That guy could charm the pants off McGonagall if he wanted to. There was no doubt that he could get through to the Gryffindors. But no matter, he would meet each of Blaise's moves with a move of his own, if need be.

The bell rang.


	8. So It Begins

Hermione rubbed her eyes. She was so tired, but there was still so much to do! It was curfew quite yet, but everybody else had long ago left- leaving the library empty. These were the moments she had missed the most- the late night solitude she was able to secure in the library. She had no legal or official claims to the library, of course, but she might as well have. When the rays of sunlight began to retreat, Hermione's time began. Even though it was a silly notion, she liked to think of as her Happy Hour. (Even though she was in there for much more than an hour.) With a big sigh Hermione pushed her chair back on its two back legs, holding onto the table with her arms for support. "School sucks," she said aloud to herself. Then, almost as if the library were agreeing with her, an echo rebounded off the walls of the great room, "School sucks." With another sigh, she dropped the chair back onto all four legs and grabbed the book in front of her. Soon, she was lost in the words rolling off the pages, her mind caught in a whirlpool of information.

"Well, that's something I never would have expected from you," a silky voice said from the shadows. In her shock Hermione pushed the chair backwards, but the two back legs caught, and she felt herself tipping backwards. Instinctively she shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the inevitable fall. Seconds ticked by, but it never came. Cautiously she opened her eyes and came face to face with Blaise's dark, smiling eyes. Looking down, she realized Blaise was holding onto the back of the chair, his arms reaching behind her body to grab onto it. He slowly set her down on all four legs. "You really should be more careful." His voice was smooth and low…and enticing. Hermione was too shocked to say anything. She just kept blinking and staring at him with wide eyes, her mouth opening and closing- making her look like a goldfish. "I take it by your silence that you're surprised to see me?" he chuckled; the sound was lovely- musical and low, but had a rough edge to it. Hermione really had to strain her ears to hear what he was saying. Suddenly, her brain unclogged itself. "Surprised would be an understatement," she squeaked. Embarrassed, she cleared her throat before speaking again. "What are you doing here, Zabini?" Now That the shock had worn off she was getting suspicious, and dare she think, even a little scared. 'What does he want?' Hermione thought to herself. No one else was in the library at this time, not even Madam Prince, who trusted Hermione enough to leave the keys with her to lock up. "Nothing, just thought I'd get a book for some light bedtime reading." The words were innocent enough, but his tone had a slight purr to it. "Why, is that against the rules Granger?" Her last name was whispered, and it sounded alluring and sexy. The word rolled off his tongue, as if it were made for him to say, and he were born to say it. He cocked his head slightly to the side, waiting to hear what she would say. Hermione shook her head, partly to try and clear the fuzz from her brain, and partly to indicate "no." "No, I suppose not…I mean it's not curfew yet…" Blaise gave a low chuckle, "Well, don't let me distract you any further. It seems like you have a lot of work to do." He said, eyeing the piles of textbooks she had arranged around her. "I just came to find a book, so I'll be on my way." He finally released the chair and stepped back.

"Alright…" Hermione said slowly. Her senses were slowly coming back to her and she wasn't liking the situation one bit.

"Well, then, I suppose I'll see you later?" He gave her a small smile, but the warmth didn't quite reach his eyes, which remained distant and calculating.

"I, I suppose so. Goodbye then," Hermione said curtly. She really did have a lot of work to do, and being in the (what was by then feeling like a very small and suffocating) library with a Slytherin wasn't going to help her any. Soon enough, she was engrossed in her work again. If there was one thing Hermione Granger prided herself on, it was being able to get lost in her work in a matter of seconds. However, when she did that, she put herself in a very vulnerable position. She didn't even notice Blaise lingering in the bookshelves behind her.

He didn't make a noise, just stood there observing. Nothing she did went by unnoticed by him. He noticed she had a habit of twirling a curl around her fingers, then pulling on it, as she read; and he loved it. In time, he was sure he would be tugging on those curls as well. He licked his lips- she was going to be his prize trophy. With a glint in his eyes, he turned to leave but ran into something. "Mmpf," he grunted quietly. "Fancy seeing you here, at this time of night," a voice drawled.

Blaise chuckled, "Hello Malfoy. I might say the same for you." He straightened his cloak. "I was just returning to the common room, care to walk with me?"

"No, I still need to check out a couple of books. This damn library is too uselessly big, wouldn't you agree?" Draco chuckled softly. "Anyways, what are you doing here? I see you don't have any books." He gave Blaise a questioning look.

"Ah," Blaise chuckled, "I came to check out a book as well, but I just realized I checked it out two days ago. My mind's been wandering since we've come back."

"I see…Well, I'm off to find the rest of my books. See you later?"

"Yes, I'll see you in our dorms."

The two walked off in separate directions. Draco was no fool- he knew Blaise was up to something. He just had to find out what it was. But he would find out soon enough. 'Whatever,' he thought, 'Let's see…K..M…Q…Where are you?' Suddenly, something growled from behind the bookshelves. "What the hell?!" he said aloud, but quietly- he didn't want to alert the thing that he was there. Slowly, wand raised, he walked towards the noise. With a sneakiness only someone who learned in the dark could manage, he peeked through some books and saw a table. He smirked- all he could see was a bushel of brown hair amongst piles and piles of books. Of course she would be here at this time. 'Dammit, that's what Zabini was here for…so that's where he's headed huh?' A slight frown marred his features. 'Dammit…that's going to make things more difficult…and a little tense. Dammit!' he silently raged inside his head. A slight rustle interrupted his raging. "UGH!" Hermione screamed.

"Problem, Granger?" Draco drawled from his spot behind the books.

Hermione gasped and turned around hastily, knocking pile of books onto the floor in the process, her hand whipping out her wand. She was breathing heavily, eyes wide open. Draco stepped out from the shadows, his hands in the air as a sign of surrender. "Whoa, calm down. It's just me." Hermione was still breathing heavily, her chest heaving up and down. But, she lowered her wand slightly. "What do you want Malfoy?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Nothing, not from you anyways. Am I not allowed in the library or something?"

"No, you are…I just…Zabini…nothing. Are you here to check out a book?"

Quickly Draco grabbed a book off the shelf next to him and held it up, waving it slightly in the air. What else would one be doing in the library?" Hermione only nodded slowly. Draco, after a quick glance at the table, added, "Other than studying, that is." He gave her a small wink. Hermione lowered her wand, but she still was wary of him. "Well, if that's the book you were here for, I suppose you can be leaving." She turned around and began picking up the books she had dropped earlier. Something plopped down into the chair in front of her. Slowly she looked up and raised an eyebrow at what she saw.

"As much as I love having you boss me around, Granger, I'm not here to just check out a book. I have to study. Also, I can't quite find the book I'm looking for. " All Granger did was grunt in response- clearly she didn't care one way or another what he was up to. She finished picking up the books, and with a sigh, went back to work. Draco sat there silently, observing her. Soon she was so mesmerized by the words that she forgot he was even there. And all he did was sit there, silently watching her. He wasn't sure why he was doing that. All he knew was that something was missing from her eyes. He had seen it, that time at the Manor. The look in her eyes had haunted his dreams for months; it still did. As hard as he tried, he never could quite place what it was, that glint in her eye. Whatever it was, it wasn't in her eyes right now.

About 30 minutes later, Hermione began muttering to herself. "But that can't be right…what?...hmm…" Draco couldn't help but smirk, who knew the Gryffindor princess was a nutter? After a couple minutes of nonstop mumbling he couldn't help himself, he interrupted her. "Need help Granger?" With a startled "Oh!" Hermione looked up. "I forgot you were here…" she said softly, almost to herself, "No. I don't need your help," she spat.

Unfazed, Draco answered, "Well then, kindly refrain from talking to yourself."

"Look, Malfoy," she said with as much venom in his name as she could muster, "No one is making you sit here, so if you don't like my talking get the hell out." She was really angry now, that much he could see. There! There it was. That strange glint in her eyes. Draco lost all semblance of thought and all he could do was stare into her eyes. They were such a deep brown color, with flecks of something like honey in them. And that…little something she sometimes got. It was almost like a glint or something, but not quite.

Inwardly, Hermione was fuming. 'How dare he come into here and sit there all high and mighty?' It didn't matter that the library was technically not her's, in her mind it was. After a couple seconds she noticed he still hadn't said anything, and was staring strangely at her. Disconcerted, she snapped at him, "Oi! Malfoy! What do you think you're staring at?!" He blinked suddenly, and seemed to be snapping out of a trance.

He simply chuckled. "Alright, alright. I suppose I should be nicer to you- especially on your own turf. Am I right?" The little spitfire was adorable. And that glint…he didn't know what it was, but being around her had a way of calming him down. He knew was being too…different, too nice. But he couldn't stop himself. The look in her eyes would be his undoing. He laughed. And for the first time in his life, it was a deep, hearty laugh. He threw his head back, tears of mirth coming from his eyes. "Oh, Hermione." Still chuckling, he wiped a tear off the corner of his eye.

Hermione was just staring at him. Draco cocked his eyebrow. "You were doing your homework, I think."

"Oh, um…right…yeah, I'll just…." She looked down and grabbed her book again, but not before giving him another questioning glance. The library was once again lost in silence. Hermione was lost in her work, and Draco was lost in his thoughts. 'I shouldn't have lost my control like that. But by Merlin, it was…refreshing.'

"ARGH!" Hermione threw her hands up in the air. "This stupid assignment! WHY IS IT SO DAMN HARD?!" She didn't understand…just yesterday it had seemed so simple. She slammed her hands on the table. "I GIVE UP!" she yelled.

"So easily? I must say I'm disappointed." Hermione ground her teeth. "Look, Malfoy, I don't give a rat's ass-"

"My my, Granger. Quite the potty mouth aren't we?"

"Only when the company I'm in requires it." She said with mock sweetness. Draco grinned. "So, am I to understand that my mere presence elicits a special response from you? Just for me?" He looked in feigned interest at his nails. "I'll be honest, I'm not that surprised. My…fans...do seem to reserve a special side of themselves…just for my…viewing." He smirked at her.

Hermione's jaw hung open. "Ferret. That was beyond crass. How DARE you speak to me in that way!?" She was really getting wound up now. That was something she truly had not wanted to hear- ever. Malfoy chuckled. "Sorry, love. But the look on your face was worth it." Hermione's jaw dropped open again and her mind went into overdrive, 'Did he just call me something endearing?' She closed her mouth and opened it again to speak, but Malfoy cut her off, "Look Granger. I'm sorry." And he stood up to leave. He hesitated for a moment, then said, without turning around, "Granger. Hogsmeade weekend is coming up. Would you mind accompanying me? I have some stuff I need to pick up."

"I, I..I…" Hermione was beyond shocked. Her breath caught in her throat for so long she thought she would pass out from lack of oxygen. "I…"

"Well then. I suppose that's settled. I shall drop by to pick you up at…say 11? Then we'll go for lunch." And he left, leaving behind a trail of something sweet in his wake.

* * *

_I have no excuses :( I'm back home now for break and I gave myself a month to rest and enjoy family :) hopefully, I'll be able to crank out stories like there's no tomorrow from now on, though! as always, please enjoy and leave me a review! criticism, compliments, all are welcome :D _


	9. What are you doing, Slughorn?

Hermione sat, shock still. Her jaw was starting to feel sore from all the dropping it was doing, but she couldn't shut it. 'Did Malfoy…just ask me to…accompany him to Hogsmeade?' Everything felt numb and she felt her brain go a little fuzzy from lack of oxygen. But she paid no attention to it. Seconds later little black spots began obscuring her vision and she finally took a deep breath. 'Well that's just preposterous! How could he even think I would willingly go anywhere with him?' She frowned. Try as she might, she couldn't figure out what was going on with him. It felt like he'd been acting strange ever since the year had begun. 'I'll just have to hideout in my room or the common room the entire day, then. No big deal, I suppose. It's not like he can force me out or anything. Besides, if anything, I can just hex him into next week!' Hermione brightened slightly. Her smile dimmed slightly, however, when she saw the books and parchment in front of her. With a slight frown, she began packing it all away, 'I'll just have to come back and finish this tomorrow, I suppose. No use sitting here doing nothing all night.' After all her books were in her bag Hermione straightened up and turned to either sides, getting all the cricks out of her back. Standing up, she rolled her shoulders a bit and picked up her bag.

Humming slightly, Hermione stepped out into the cold hallway and locked the library up.

'What the bloody hell was that, Draco?!'

Draco Malfoy was currently on his way to the dungeons, berating himself as he did so. He had been trying to figure out what had happened for the past 30 minutes, but he was failing miserably. Something had prompted him to ask her to accompany him to Hogsmeade, and he was willing to bet the Manor that it was that strange thing in her eyes. He growled softly. 'You're letting it get to your head. It's bad enough that you can't get it out of your dreams, DON'T LET IT CONTROL YOU,' he thought sternly. 'Still, a day in the presence of Granger…that ought to be interesting.' A small smirk graced his face. Yes, a day with Granger would indeed be interesting.

"Cupiditas," he said to the stone wall in front of him. It slid open to reveal a small passageway. With confidence oozing from his every step, Draco walked into the Slytherin common room.

"Draco! I thought I was going to have to go looking for you!" someone chuckled from a sofa near the fireplace.

"Please Zabini. I think we both know that if I've been gone for too long, you should be sending out a search party to help the other person." He smirked, but it held no malice.

"True," Blaise chuckled. "Still, I was…concerned. Not to mention Pansy would have had my head."

"I suppose. Where is she? Sleeping?"

"Don't know, haven't seen her all day."

The two fell into a comfortable silence. This was the main difference between Slytherins and Gryffindors: snakes knew how to maintain a peaceful silence, while lions felt the need to galumph about, roaring at everything.

Pansy stretched her arms high above her head. She'd spent almost the entire day in the library after classes, and then returned to her room early. Her intention had been to cast a silencing charm around her bed and work in peace, but as soon as she'd cast the 'Silencio' she'd fallen asleep, books and everything strewn around her. Needless to say, it hadn't been a pleasant night's sleep, and people were going to suffer for it. Even when she was younger, she'd never been one to suffer alone. With a slight smile, she remembered when her favorite doll had its arm ripped off. In her fury she'd reached for the toy closes to her (which happened to be Draco's small broom) and smashed it to pieces beneath her feet. Of course, she wouldn't dare do such a thing now, but still…she never went down alone. With a big yawn she lowered her head onto her arms and closed her eyes.

"We missed your presence last night by the fireplace," a soft voice said suddenly from her right.

"Mmf zrep gurgly," she muttered, head still on her arms.

"What was that, darling?" Didn't quite catch it," another voice said from her left.

"I said, "I slept early." My goodness. And I know you guys didn't even notice I wasn't there." She finally raised her head and squinted. "Besides, we've hardly done that enough for it to qualify as some form of…quality time or whatever."

"Ah, I think our little bird is grumpy this morning. Don't you agree Draco?"

"Seems like it. Care to share what happened?" Draco grabbed a slice of toast and brought it to his plate, and slathered it with strawberry jelly and butter. He'd seen Hermione eat her toast like that once, and decided to try it. He'd never gone back to his old way of eating toast.

"Nothing, I was just overworked. The year's hardly begun and I feel like I've aged at least 20 years. Not that I look it, of course," Pansy sniffed daintily, her pug nose crinkling slightly.

"Of course not, Pans."

"You were out late, Nee." Ron shoveled scrambled eggs into his mouth with a spoon. "We thought we were gonna hafta go looking for you. It's a good thing Harry thought to check his map first! Saved us both a hell of a long walk."

"Ron, please. It hardly takes 5 minutes. And please, chew between bites, yes?" Hermione gave him a slightly grossed out look and slowly handed him a napkin. Ron grabbed it and wiped his mouth messily.

"Anyways Nee, why were you there so late for? Even you can't have that much homework yet…" Harry commented. "I don't want you overworking yourself."

"Guys, it's fine. I wasn't there for that much longer than usual anyways. I'm not overworking myself, and I just wanted to get a little ahead- lesson-wise anyways." She took a sip of chocolate milk and grabbed some toast. Humming slightly, she reached for some butter and slathered it all over her toast. "Harry, could you pass the strawberry jelly please?" It was wordlessly handed to her.

The three began talking about anything and everything that came to their minds, and time flew by. It was still early enough that dew was clinging to the grass outside and the enchanted ceiling was still hazy. Soon enough it was time for classes to begin. Hermione took a glance at her watch and nearly jumped out of her seat. "GUYS! We're going to be late!" she exclaimed, grabbing her bag and jumping out of her seat. "We've got to go!" Hermione gasped. "OH bugger! I bet we won't even be able to find seats in the front!" She threw her head back and moaned, "Oh…I just know today's lesson's going to be super important. And I bet we won't even be able to hear anything!" Without waiting another second, she ran out of the Great Hall.

The door burst open, and a panting Hermione stood in the doorway. "Professor Slughorn! I'm so sorry." She paused to try and catch her breath. "Was…eating…breakfast…lost…track of….time." She winced- there was a stitch in her side that felt like a knife slipping through her ribcage. Professor Slughorn laughed.

"My dear! There's no need to be sorry! There are still 5 minutes left before class. And you should know better than to run in the hallways, young lady!" He shook his finger at her, but his eyes were crinkled. "Now, come in and catch your breath before you pass out! It won't do to have my best student in the infirmary even before class starts, now will it?" With a smile he waved his hand towards the tables in front of him. Hermione gave him a weak smile and took her spot at the head of the classroom. 'Whew, that was close,' she thought happily. Humming slightly to herself, she began taking out her parchment, quill and textbook and laying them out in front of her. Then she took out her took out her cauldron and undid the shrinking spell she had cast on it earlier. After she had everything set in front of her in the perfect fashion, she folded her hands in front of her and gave a contented sigh.

After a couple minutes, the rest of the students began trickling in. And, as usual, the class segregated itself. Today was double Potions with the Slytherins. Even though the war was over and done with, the two Houses maintained their high levels of hatred towards each other- especially the 8th years. They acted like oil and water, even though on the inside they were much more alike than they believed. The Gryffindors took the right side of the room and the Slytherins took the left. There was no written or spoken rule to it- it was just one of those unspoken laws of life.

"Hey you guys! Over here! I saved you two a seat!" Hermione waved frantically at her two friends, who were deep in conversation about something- probably Quidditch. "Guys! Guys! GUYS!" Hermione suddenly yelled. The whole room froze- everyone was staring at her in surprise. With a blush she lowered her hand and began staring hard at her parchment.

A soft chuckle came from her right. "Look Nee, I know you're absolutely in love with me but you gotta calm down," Harry whispered. He flashed a smile at her.

"Mate, we know I'm the one she's in love with. Please," Ron added jokingly.

"You two better shut it! I didn't realize my voice was so loud…" She was still blushing furiously, and she hadn't raised her head. "Oh my gosh! What will Professor Slughorn think?! Oh my gosh oh my gosh…that was soo embarrassing!"

Someone cleared their throat from the front of the classroom, and everyone quieted down. "Now everybody, don't think it's escaped my attention that your two classes have yet to develop the bonds of friendship. So, today we will be brewing our potion in pairs." At the beginning of his statement everyone had begun shifting slightly in their chairs but by the end everyone looked significantly happier. People were already starting to look around the room, searching for who they wanted to pair up with. Some people even began whispering to each other and pointing at themselves and them. Professor Slughorn cleared his throat again. "Your pairs have already been made, and the list shall-" here he waved his wand at the blackboard behind him, "appear on the board." People leaned over their desks trying get a better look at the names. Slowly everyone's jaws started dropping all over the room. Seemingly everyone was in shock, but one person raised her hand. "Umm…Professor Slughorn?

"Yes, dear?"

"I…I was just wondering if the, um, the pairs are written correctly on the board?" Hermione squeaked. There was no way a professor would pair off Gryffindors with Slytherins. That was like begging the universe for a catastrophe.

"Yes, Miss Granger. The names are written correctly. Now, if everyone would just move around and sit with their partners…yes, that's it. Just stand up and rearrange yourselves!" He rubbed his belly and patted it.

"But…Professor!" Harry sputtered. "We…they…that is to say…." He seemed ready to hyperventilate. "I…I" he sputtered again a couple times. Ron's ears and face were turning a dangerous red color next to him. "Guys, come on. Let's just move. I'm sure it won't be that bad…" Hermione said to them quietly, tugging slightly on their sleeves. When the two boys made no move to calm down she tugged harder. "Guys! Sit your arses down," she hissed. Harry finally took notice of her. "Nee, have you even looked at your partner yet?" He raised his eyebrow at her, daring her to say she had.

Meekly, Hermione shook her head. Honestly she had still been hanging her head in embarrassment. "Well then, Hermione. I suggest you take a look before you tell us to calm down." She looked up in surprise at his acidic tone.

Slowly she turned her head towards the front of the classroom. Quickly, she scanned the list for her name. They were listed in alphabetical order, by last names and by House. She scanned the Gryffindor column, eyes darting down the board. D….F…..G….Gr…Granger...there was a line connecting her name to another on the other side of the board. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes traced the line. When they reached the other side, she gasped.

_Draco Malfoy._

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_a/n: hello again :) fastest update yet i think! FINALLY some real Dramione action coming up! _

_according to the Notre Dame latin dictionary (thing), cupiditas translates to ambition :) please read and review! and enjoy_

_disclaimer: don't own anything_


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